


Royal Courtship and How Not to Do It

by Cyrrus



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Comedy, F/F, Love at First Sight, Pining, Romance, Ruby is a Knightess, Useless Lesbians, Weiss is a Princess, White Rose Week 2020
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-16
Updated: 2020-06-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:47:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24754984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cyrrus/pseuds/Cyrrus
Summary: As Princess to the Atlas throne, Weiss Schnee is in need of a personal guard to keep her safe. After dismissing every candidate brought to her, she settles on a young knightess named Ruby Rose for one simple reason...She's cute.Like, really cute.Thus begins the tale of the princess's absurd schemes to make her knight fall for her.
Relationships: Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee
Comments: 4
Kudos: 60





	1. Chapter 1

Weiss’s heels click against the corridor as she’s escorted through the halls of the royal palace. ‘Escort’ is a polite way to put it. Dragged against her will is much more accurate. A faceless pair of guards in armor open the doors to the courtyard for her, but she crosses her arms and turns up her nose. “Remind me again why I’m being forced to pick out a knight? I already have you two and the rest of the castle guards.”

One of the knights answers, still huffing from having to push the iron gate. “According to His Highness--” Weiss scoffs. Of course Father is behind this. “--you’re in need of a personal guard. We guard the castle and the royal family in their entirety, but we can’t be with you at all hours. You’re to choose someone who’ll always be at your beck and call. The best trainees across the Kingdom of Atlas are lined up outside.”

“Trainees?”

“Aye. Most everyone your age is still in training.”

Weiss sighs as she steps through the gateway and into fresh air, and then shields her eyes from the evening sunlight. Just what she needed, a bodyguard who’s not even graduated. She’s not unfamiliar with the concept of a personal retainer to grow up alongside, but to be assigned one at seventeen? She doesn’t think better late than never applies in this case.

Just as expected, the expanse of the courtyard is lined with young knights that look to be within a few years of her. She strides ahead of her two guards, much to their annoyance, and heads to the nearest candidate. Everyone stands at attention when whispers of her arrival spread through the crowd. All eyes are upon her, not that she’s unused to the attention. Being a princess tends to draw stares whether she likes it or not. Let’s make this quick. She has half a mind to reject each one on purpose just to spite Father.

“You,” she snaps at a tall, blonde knight she’s chosen as her first victim. He nearly drops his long sword in surprise, and the shabby armor plates he’s wearing rustle from poor fitting. “I won’t bother learning your name unless I select you. If you want me to care, impress me. What sets you apart from the rest of these candidates?”

He gulps before speaking, and Weiss mentally takes a point off of his score. No room for inadequacies. “Um. My fair, beautiful lady--”

“Next!” She turns on her heel and stomps to the next candidate, ignoring the trainee’s squawk of surprise. Flattery won’t convince her. In fact, she’s heard enough faux compliments in her life for it to have the opposite effect. She hears one of the guards behind her cough, but a quick glare from over her shoulder shuts him up. As mere soldiers, they have no say to how she conducts the vetting process.

Next in line is a young woman who’s somehow just as short as Weiss is. At least they have something in common already, the princess muses. Across her back is a gargantuan warhammer that’s so tall that the end of the handle pokes over her head. Crude, but deadly. Weiss can appreciate that. “You heard what I said to reject number one. What accomplishment are you most proud of.”

“I once ate a week’s worth of rations in one sitting!” the knightess announces with a proud fist to her chest.

“Next!” Weiss shudders at the thought and strolls past in a hurry. The chefs would be worked to death and back if a woman like that were let into the castle.

It takes all of ten minutes for Weiss to reject every single trainee. Some would say her pettiness holds no bounds. Others would say she’s just trying to annoy her father. She would say they’re both correct, and she is not ashamed in the slightest. “Now then, since that’s taken care of, can I get back to my… oh for dust’s sake.”

She spots a new knight running towards her spouting nonsense about ‘being late’ and ‘sorry to keep you waiting!’ Honestly, Weiss should dismiss the trainee just for that. Crossing her arms, Weiss deadpans to convey how displeased she is with this display of inadequacy.

“Is that gardening tool supposed to be your weapon?” Weiss quips, eyeing the massive scythe strapped to the knight’s back. The tool easily reaches twice her height.

“Yup!” says a feminine voice, her face hidden under a helm that’s far too big for her. She does her best to stand tall, but the effect is diminished by the mismatched set of armors she’s wearing. And what’s with that red cape? Did they find a random villager and dress her up to play a prank on Weiss? Huffing as she approaches, Weiss grabs the lip of the helm and shoves it up to see the trainee’s face.

“I’d demand the next candidate in line, but there’s no one else left. Your services won’t… huh?” Weiss blinks a few times as she takes in the sight of the girl in front of her. Bright smile. Black and red streaked hair. Unusual yet striking silver eyes.

Oh.

Oh no.

She’s cute.

Like, _really_ cute.

Weiss makes a few babbling noises as she gets her blush under control. Thankfully, the knightess doesn’t seem to react. She’s content to wait there with an adorable little smile that makes her dimples poke out. “What’s… what’s your name?” Weiss stammers.

She salutes in a way that’s an offensive imitation of an actual salute, but Weiss couldn’t care less about nitpicking right now. “Ruby Rose! Top of my class at Signal. I was set to transfer to Beacon two years early when they sent me here instead. So here I am!”

“You’re hired,” the princess says without another thought. Her mind is too preoccupied chanting ‘cute girl’ over and over.

Ruby’s eyes practically sparkle as she lets out a gasp. “Really? But I haven’t demonstrated my skills yet.”

“I can judge someone’s potential at a mere glance. And can see the future. Or maybe read minds. I don’t know, take your pick! You’re hired and that’s final.” She can already hear father lecturing her for choosing a ‘mediocre’ candidate, and she’ll be sure to ignore him as usual when the time comes.

“Ohmygosh, yes! I’m going to be a knight!” Ruby hops in place and chirps with joy. Weiss swears her heart is going to melt as if it were put over a fire. Damnit, what’s gotten into her? She’s never felt this way before! Then again, she’s never met anyone so mind-numbingly precious as Ruby before. Ack, there she goes again! She makes a note to check with the royal scholars if this girl has a charming spell on her.

Weiss clears her throat and tries to clear her mind too while she’s at it. “Right. As my new personal knight, you’re to stay close to me. At all times. Everywhere I go. Don’t ever leave my sight, okay?”

“Yes, your highness!”

“Call me Weiss. We’re, um, going to be seeing each other a lot after all.” Ruby nods as happy as can be, and Weiss turns away so she can hide her blushing face. Oh dear, what has she gotten herself into?


	2. Chapter 2

The scolding from father went about as well as expected. Thankfully, she put her diplomacy skills to use and convinced him to let her keep Ruby with the promise that she’s more than meets the eye. It wasn’t until after that Weiss was actually informed of Ruby’s profile. She's two years younger at fifteen, the youngest of the candidates from last week. She comes from a large family of knights that all trained at Beacon. Ruby was set to transfer there early, which alone should be proof of her qualifications.

Weiss smirks as she stands with her hands on her hips, directing the castle servants down the hall. Her white cape billows, giving her the image of the regal heiress she aspires to be. "Be careful with those packages! Remember, third door on the left. If anything gets damaged, I'll have your head!"

She doesn't actually mean that, but they don't need to know. Father doesn’t need to know her true intentions either. Whether or not Ruby is qualified doesn't matter to Weiss. She has another goal in mind...

To get that adorable, cheery, ball of sunshine named Ruby Rose to fall in love with her!

Of course she can't simply ask her out. It'd look like an order, and a lady doesn't act as the pursuer (at least not openly). Well, they're technically both ladies. But Weiss's rank exceeds the knightess', so she gets to claim that role.

Satisfied that the servants aren't going to drop any boxes, she hurries forward and beats them to the door. Her knuckles rap against it in brisk rhythm. Weiss wanted to station her knight into the room next to her own, but Father strictly forbids commoners from having anything on the same level as they do. Status symbols and blah blah blah.

The door opens, and her future wife pokes her head out. "Oh, Weiss! What's up?"

Ruby has no idea how to talk to royalty. It's so precious. Weiss hopes that trait never goes away. "As my personal guard, you'll need state of the art equipment. I brought the best the armory could forge, additional clothing, and other necessities I'm sure you'll find useful."

When she grins, Weiss counts it as a small victory. "Gee, thanks! Where are…" She looks down the hall and her face blanks. "All that? There must be dozens of packages!"

Weiss nods with the demure little smile she uses whenever she wants to buy someone's favor. "Mmhm! Only the best for my new companion. I might have thrown in a few gifts as well."

Ruby looks dumbstruck, mouth hanging agape. "T-thank you. How many of them are gifts?"

"About eighty percent of them."

"What?!"

"Just set them down inside!" She calls to the servants, and they bustle their way in. By the time they finish the mass delivery and take their leave, boxes cover every available floor space. They stack to the ceiling. Weiss hums in approval, satisfied with her handiwork. “Better get to opening, knightess.”

Her bodyguard stands there frozen at first, hand brushing through the back of the hair in disbelief. After floundering for words, she seems to decide to do as she’s told instead of protesting. Orders are orders. Ruby picks out the one nearest to her that won’t disrupt the teetering tower of gifts and cause an avalanche. As she tears into it, Weiss peeks over their shoulder, curious which item will be in this one.

A gasp rings out. From the box, Ruby pulls the first of many gifts. It’s a red and black dress. Weaved into it is a corset, and the inside is lined with fluffy red fabric. “This… is…”

Terrible? Out of style? A waste of perfectly good cotton? Weiss thinks of all the worst possible reactions first, but her fears are abated when Ruby squeals in delight.

“Amazing!” she cheers, running her arm through one sleeve to test it out.

Weiss heaves a sigh of relief. “I hoped you’d like it. The colors seem to fit you, and the inside of the dress is lined with thicker material that should fend off at least a few blows if we were to ever end up in an ‘unfortunate’ situation.” Hopefully that won’t come to pass. But then again, it might be nice to be saved by her dashing new guard... “I specifically ordered this shade of red to match the cloak you insist on wearing.”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Ruby squees. Without warning, she rockets forward and wraps Weiss tight in a hug. The princess freezes up. Her mind goes blank. Without a single rational thought to tell her how to react, she hugs back with just as much of a crushing grip. This… this is pleasant. Physical affection isn’t something she’s particularly used to, but Ruby is warm..

“How did you get my measurements though?” Ruby asks, pulling away far too soon. Weiss barely suppresses the urge to order her close again.

“I sent my tailors to sort through your belongings while you were away. A princess must know her knight inside and out.”

Ruby blinks a few times. “Um, I guess so. Could have just asked...” She coughs into her fist. Weiss is too enamored to notice the awkward chill that lingers in the air from the revelation. Instead, she seizes the opportunity and decides now would be a perfect time to deliver the coup de at.

She snaps her fingers three times, holds out her hand, and a butler rushes in with a platter mere seconds later. Ruby’s eyes flicker between the two, but she’s not given the chance to ask if the servant had been waiting there the whole time or if the service here is just _that_ good. The butler removes the lid off the platter to reveal a bouquet of fresh white roses. He places them into Weiss’s outstretched hand and leaves the two of them alone.

Lip curling into a devious little grin, Weiss presents the bouquet to Ruby, holding it just under her nose. When the young knight stares, lacking in comprehension, Weiss snaps, “Take it.” Apparently she was rather harsh because Ruby drops the dress with a jolt and snatches the flowers, holding them in both hands close to her chest.

“Are these for me?” She sniffs them, and her smile returns once more. “They’re so nice! Thank you.”

Weiss shakes her head. “They’re for me.”

“Er, what? Then why did you give them to me?”

As if the answer should be obvious, Weiss holds her hand back out. “So you can gift them to me. Why wouldn’t you want to give your princess a present as lovely as those?”

“Um…”

“Hand them over!”

“Right!” She practically chucks them into Weiss’s arms.

The princess catches them and cradles the roses as if they were a treasured family heirloom. “Aww, these are so sweet! I love them, Ruby. Thank you for thinking of me.” She sighs and puts her forearm to her forehead, fake-swooning. She backs out of the room while still holding the pose. “I’ll put them in a vase next to my bed. When I wake up, they’ll be the first thing I see.” Then she slips out the door, leaving behind an utterly clueless knightess.

Weiss rushes down the hall, giggling to herself. Step one of ‘Get the girl of her dreams to fall in love with me’ complete. And she even obtained a gift along the way! Ah, the first of many gifts from Ruby, she’s sure. Now that the seed of love has been planted in Ruby’s head, she’ll just have to water it until it blossoms into a beautiful… rose. What else could it turn into with a last name like that?

Onto step two!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


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